Allende and Nasir tipped to be stars at Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns co-head coach Manqoba Mngqithi says the decision to start Marcelo Allende and Abubeker Nasir in the 2-1 loss to SuperSport United last week was a move to debunk the false conception of the intensity of the DStv Premiership.

Nasir scored the consolation goal for Sundowns in the dying minutes of the game while Allende, who has two goals in three games, only lasted for about an hour.

“Sometimes when you come in as a substitute, it is easy for people to put you on the podium but when you start the game it is different. Marcelo did not perform badly, he had very good moments but he was a little bit off-pace with the speed of the game,” said Mngqithi.

ALSO READ: Sekhukhune looking to keep a clean sheet against City

“Marcelo’s performance is good enough to suggest that he is going to be key for us. It was always important for us to give them starts because it would give us a false impression if they always come in late in the game when the opposition is tired.

“They will start to believe that the opposition in South Africa is at that level in terms of intensity but now they are thinking about it differently. The difference between our league and others is that we lose the ball too many times, we don’t take care of the game,” said Mngqithi.

The Downs mentor went on to make an observation about South African football, suggesting that the league is a lot faster compared to the Ethiopian league and Chile, where Abuberker and Allende come from respectively.

“In most leagues they are not used to this because the speed of their game is a bit slower and it gives time to the player in possession.

“In South Africa it is a transitional game and it is very difficult to watch it and enjoy it if you are watching it on TV. Sometimes you don’t even see where the ball is because it is moving too fast,” said Mngqithi.

The Brazilians, who find themselves outside the top three of the DStv Premiership, will continue their title defence on Wednesday night when they travel to Chippa United.